The Martial Unity

With these objectives in mind, he realized that his motivations up until now had changed, and not just a little.

Previously, he was driven solely by the desire to develop his Martial Art, traverse his Martial Path, and fulfill Project Water by creating a viable combat style that could adapt to and counter anything.

He was what was known as a purist, someone who pursued Martial Art for the sake of Martial Art.

Now, however, this wasn't entirely the case. Although he still didn't seem to lose any longing to realize his greatest ambition and dream, he was also motivated by the strength that came with Martial Art.

This wasn't particularly something he was dismayed about, it wasn't as though purist Martial Artists were superior to Martial Artists who pursued Martial Art for reasons other than just for the sake of Martial Art.

No.

That was an elitist take that he didn't believe in.

At the end of the day, what mattered was the strength of one's determination to pursue Martial Art, regardless of what the desire that served as the core of that determination was.

('In that regard, this might actually end up being a good thing,') Rui realized. Having an additional desire to develop his Martial Art on top of his already strong desire to realize Project Water meant that this desire to develop his Martial Art was stronger at the end of the day.

That meant he would be more motivated and determined, and thus would likely make more progress faster than if he had still been pursuing Martial Art for solely his original ambition.

Regardless, he was not complaining.

"Oh, looks like we're arriving at our destination, the port town of Carmarl," Rui remarked as he saw the harbor in the distance. "Looks like we'll have to make our decision soon enough. Where do you want to go of all the places that I described?"

Rui had spent some time telling Kane about the various places that he had researched from data that he purchased from Guildmaster Bradt. The man's whole business centered around connecting people and places over large distances. It was the very essence and core of his business model. He was truly the most apt person to purchase such information from. Rui had gone with the intent of simply requesting to glance over the data once instead of actually purchasing it, but unfortunately, Guildmaster Bradt had seen right through the trick.

"I have long deduced that you possess the ability to memorize data," He had snorted, unimpressed. "Glancing at them will cost you the same price as purchasing them. And my maps are expensive."

Rui had taken the L on that, but at least he had gotten what he came for. He had chosen to opt for purchasing data surrounding a greater number of places rather than getting more details on a limited number of locations, the price of information rose exponentially the greater the detail, and he had already bled a lot to get Guildmaster Bradt to divert two Martial Seniors away from matters of national interest for a simple red herring.

But, in the end, he had come to learn about Ruohuan, a place for Martial Artists to grow stronger, as well as the floating Ajanta islands, a place that only Martial Artists could seek.

Mountain Drexeuelian whose base and foundation were said to be made out of a dense esoteric mist that supported the weight of the entire mountain. Martial Artists of the Lower Realms were said to temper their body by wading through the extraordinarily dense mist and bearing a portion of the weight of the mountain on their body. The deeper one went the more weight one bore.

The Havas Field was said to be a special forest where Martial Artists trained in self-control. The forest was infested with a special species of flowers whose pollen acted as an aphrodisiac, drawing out lust and urge from within man, and driving them to uncontrollable rampages where they committed unspeakable acts. Women were said to avoid the forest, while men were strictly forbidden from setting foot anywhere within ten kilometers of the forest. The only exemption was for Martial Artists, who possessed far greater control over their mind and body and were much less likely to lose control.

The Thundering Valley was said to be a place uninhabitable to anybody but Martial Artists and Monsters. Billions of lightning bolts abused and scarred the valley every second, due to the rich presence of an esoteric that attracted lightning in combination with perpetually extremely stormy weather. The deeper one went towards the core of the valley, the likelier one was to get struck by lightning. It was said that Martial Artists used this place to hone their speed and maneuvering, training themselves to be able to react to lightning bolts!

The place was so treacherous that not even Martial Apprentices were qualified to enter and cope, only Martial Squires and above could handle the Thundering Valley. It was said that even Martial Masters trained in the core of the valley, that was how challenging it was.

Umiana Trench was a location in the inland ocean where they were currently traveling through that was said to be a trench in the ocean where the water never reached. The reason for this was rather unexpected and shocking.

The reason the Umiana Trench was untouched by water despite being in the middle of the ocean was not because of some odd esoteric substance that kept the ocean away or anything of the sort.

No.

The cause of the trench was actually connected to a Martial Sage. According to history, a vaunted Martial Sage traveled to the deepest part of the ocean in her pursuit of training.

According to lore, the sky roared, the Earth trembled, and the ocean died. Sage Sia created the Uminana Trench with pure force. Her sage-level technique at the deepest part of the inland ocean blew away the water surrounding her with unfathomable amounts of force that beggared the mind.

In an instant, she had created a hole in the ocean with no water. A hole the size of a small country.